NEW FRONT SECTION AND UPGRADED INTERIOR

The Citigo is Skoda's take on the most modern citycar design in the market. Now it offers a smarter look, both inside and out. Jonathan Crouch reports.

Ten Second Review

Skoda's first stab at citycar motoring has proved to be an impressive one, this Citigo borrowing Volkswagen technology and blending it with the value we expect from this growing Czech brand. This improved version has smartened up its act and those in search of a beautifully conceived, affordable and impressively space and fuel-efficient urban runabout will need to consider it.

Background

It seems strange that a company like Skoda, which has forged a reputation for bringing us small, keenly priced cars, has almost no track record in the citycar sector. The Czechs have long had a history of bringing us superminis and family hatches but until the Spring of 2012, they'd never tried to sell us a properly compact urban runabout. With this car, the Citigo, all of that changed. It may have marked Skoda's entry into the class but it was soon obvious that this wasn't going to be a car content to merely dip its toe into the water.

That was as expected. This was - and still is - a re-branded version of the much applauded Volkswagen up!, a car also marketed as a SEAT Mii. This Citigo though, has usually been able to trump its two stablemates with small but significant advantages when it comes to the all-important value proposition. Now its got a sleeker look and a much nicer cabin, it's even easier to wonder why you'd pay more for the Volkswagen alternative.

Driving Experience

So. What's it like, this small Skoda? Get behind the wheel and you've a solid, well appointed cabin that promises a solid, well appointed driving experience. Already, you sense, there's a depth of design here missing from this car's French, Korean and Japanese rivals. Most of these feature three cylinder 1.0-litre engines that are busily revvy at best and downright noisy at worst. A configuration shared here, but delivered with a bit more finesse. Fire the engine and a more refined thrum filters out from beneath the bonnet ahead.

If you're wondering quite how much power we're talking about, the answer is not a great deal in the mainstream 1.0-litre variants on offer, cars offering a choice of either 60 or 75PS outputs. Most will be content with the base version, capable as it is of sixty in 14.4s on the way to 99mph, quite enough to keep up with the traffic. The performance gains offered by the 75PS variant seem relatively slight (0-60mph in 13.2s on the way to 107mph) but the unit is a little more refined.

Design and Build

So what's different with this revised model? Well, the front section has been subtly revised, so there's a new bonnet, a redesigned radiator grille, modified bumpers and updated fog lights, all aiming to create a fresher, younger look. The front headlights are fitted with LED daytime running lights and the fog lights come with an optional cornering function, which lights up the area the vehicle is turning into on junctions with poor visibility. Plusher 'SE' models get tinted tail lights too. The changes have increased this diminutive little car's body length by 34mm but it's still not much longer than a Fiat 500, yet offers far more room inside, space in fact for the four fully-sized adults who could never comfortably fit in the apparently space-efficient Italian car.

Talking of the interior, well it too has been upgraded with a smarter instrument cluster and redesigned seats. There are also a range of new radio and media connectivity options. Otherwise, things are much as before, with the tardis-like interior just as big as that of Skoda's far pricier and apparently much bigger Fabia supermini.

Market and Model

Pricing starts from just over £8,000 but most Citigo variants in the UK tend to be sold somewhere in the £9,000 to £11,000 bracket common to this kind of car. There's a choice of either three or five-door bodyshapes and five different trim levels - 'S', 'SE', 'SE L', 'Monte Carlo' and 'Colour Edition'. Avoid entry-level trim and with the base 60PS engine, you'll be offered the option of spending another £360 to get the more frugal 'GreenTech' version of that 1.0-litre petrol unit (the 'GreenTech' tweaks are standard on the 75PS variant). Even if you haven't a family, we'd want to look at paying an extra £350 to go from the three to the five-door bodystyle.

Across the range, new-generation 'Blues' and 'Swing' radio packages offer more connectivity options - ranging from an aux-in socket to an SD card slot and a USB socket. A colour display, six speakers and a Bluetooth connection are added to the 'Swing' set-up. Using this, the system can be connected to the driver's smartphone, which is stored in a special smartphone holder on the dashboard. The apps running on the iOS and Android smartphone operating systems provide navigation, a driving data display, hands-free phone calls as well as playing music and the radio.

Cost of Ownership

This Skoda simply has to be super-affordable to run. It is. Thanks in part to a low kerb weight of only around 850kg, even the least efficient entry-level 60PS models will return a combined fuel economy figure of 64.2mpg, with emissions pegged at 101g/km. Figures you can improve to 65.7mpg and 100g/km by opting for the efficient ASG automatic gearbox, at just 30kgs in weight, one of the lightest auto gearboxes ever made. Those looking for better economy still in their 1.0-litre 60PS Citigo will be drawn inexorably to the 'GreenTech' model which features low rolling resistance tyres, a battery regeneration system and a stop start system that cuts the engine when you don't need it in traffic or at the lights.

Go for the slightly pokier 75PS variant and there's hardly any penalty at the pumps. Skoda includes its efficiency package (with start/stop and everything else) as standard with this engine, so the returns achieved - 68.9mpg on the combined cycle and 98g/km - are quite impressive for a car of this kind. Whether you opt for your Citigo with 60 or 75PS, the benefits of the efficiency package are important given that they take this car below the 100g/km barrier, delivering all kinds of tax benefits.

Summary

And in summary? Well some citycars sell on cute and cuddly virtues. This isn't one of them. Here instead, the urban runabout has grown up, become mature, got itself properly sorted. True, there are feistier citycars you could consider: maybe more charismatic ones too. But none that better deliver on the promise of two words that sum this Citigo up. Simply clever.

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